Hair Hut

Carly George and Raquel Payne had been cutting hair together for five years when they decided to go into business together.

“I was a chair-renter, so I was self-employed, and then Raquel was an employee,” George said. “But we both had always kind of had us in it to own a salon. I always had said, ‘How hard can it be?’ It’s really hard, it turns out.”

Rather open a salon of their own, a long and expensive process under the best circumstances, they elected to purchase an existing business, ideally one with an established base of clients. After a long search, George and Payne settled on Hair Hut, an 8th Street salon established three decades ago.

Although the salon had a large, loyal client base, it also had problems that needed addressing. “We had leaks in the ceiling, the back sink was plugged, we were slowly falling apart,” George said.

Then, late last year, a new problem emerged: George and Payne found out that the strip mall the salon occupied was scheduled for demolition, along with several other nearby buildings.

“When we found out, (the landlord) was trying to work with us to find a new space,” she said. “In the end, we have relocated into one of their buildings.”

If being forced out by circumstances beyond their control was an enormous hassle, it also provided a significant opportunity — to overhaul every aspect of the salon, from the decor to the location of the electrical sockets.

“We helped with the new floor plan, like, the design as to where we wanted out sinks, our staff room, our shelving, our front desk,” George said. “Flooring, lighting, oh my gosh, there’s so many things.”

Hair Hut, which opened for business in its new location last week with seven stylists and three receptionists, has been entirely remodeled.

But while space is new, George and Payne are as excited about cutting hair today as they were when they started.

“Raquel and I looked at each other yesterday and said, ‘Hopefully we can do this another 30 years together,’” George said.

Synergy Strength CrossFit

CrossFit is one of the most popular fitness regimes on the planet. Devised by Greg Glassman in 2000, the high-intensity workouts are practiced by thousands of devotees across North America and the world.

Jason Trinh discovered CrossFit seven years ago, well before it became a global phenomenon.

“I was fairly out shape, hadn’t done anything in awhile,” said Trinh, who grew up in Raymore before moving to Saskatoon in 2002. When a friend mentioned that he was opening the city’s first CrossFit gym, Trinh resolved to give it a try.

“At the time I had heard nothing about it,” he said. “But I came in, tried the stuff out. It just kicked my ass from day one, and got me hooked right away.”

In 2010, Trinh began studying kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan and working full-time at his friend’s gym, Synergy Strength and Conditioning. This summer, he and Synergy co-founders Chad Benko and Ian MacDonald opened a second gym, which has become known as Synergy Strength South East.

Housed in the Colosseum Athletics building at Boychuk Drive and Highway 16, which also includes Scheer’s Martial Arts and Rhythms Dance Studio, Synergy Strength CrossFit offers clients an opportunity to hone their bodies through a combination of powerlifting, gymnastics and Olympic-style weightlifting.

CrossFit is known for its ferocity, and for the dedication of its adherents, but Trinh said the gym is geared toward people of all ages and abilities. His coaching — instruction is integral part of the CrossFit brand — can help anyone flourish, he added.

“I’m not a very athletic individual, and I found a lot of success under somebody else’s coaching and I learned a lot about myself,” he said. “When you’re not a very good mover, you learn a lot. And my personal experience helped me teach other people, and communicate (it) in a way that they understood.”

Since the gym opened, Trinh said his approach to training has helped encourage many others to embrace not only CrossFit, but also a new way of thinking about fitness and health. He hopes the business’s location, next door to a mixed martial arts training facility, will draw in even more clients, people eager for a different kind of workout.

So too will his enthusiasm for the regime he dedicated his life to five years ago.

“The fact that I’m so into it kind of motivates people to want to try and change their lives and bodies,” he said.

If you have started, expanded or moved a small business in Saskatoon within the last few months, let us know by calling 657-6210 or faxing 657-6437, attention Alex MacPherson. Submissions can also be emailed to amacpherson@thestarphoenix.com. Home-based and temporary businesses, as well as those without physical locations, will not be considered for publication.

This Week's Flyers

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.